Missed You
by Mistflyer1102
Summary: While witnessing the horrifying events in Manhattan on television, Peggy Carter, long retired from military life, catches sight of a face that she hasn't seen in seventy years.
1. Phone

**I**

**Phone**

* * *

"_There's not gonna be a safe landing, but I can try and force it down."_

She didn't usually hear him this clearly, not anymore. Seventy years was a long time, and she'd been in pain for a good percentage of that. Time was supposed to be the best medicine for a broken heart, but it was hard to recover when she could still see snatches of a future that had been taken away from her.

"_There's not enough time. This thing's moving too fast and it's heading for New York. I gotta put her in the water."_

Not enough time.

Peggy Carter leaned back in her armchair, facing an empty house. One of the consequences of staying in London grieving was that she'd missed her brother leaving the country to live in the United States with his fiancée. She hadn't wanted to go back to America, not when it just contained reminders of him. She couldn't change that distance between her and her family now.

There was never enough time for that.

"_Peggy… I'm gonna need a rain check on that dance." _

Her tea had gone cold a long time ago, cold, lifeless, and gray, such as the current moment. Retirement never sat well with her, how else could she keep herself, a former Intelligence agent, occupied when she no longer had the thrill of missions and the steady stream of information to keep her dark fears and grieving at bay. Intelligence gathering turned to care-giving with first her nephew, and then her great – niece many years later.

"_You once told me that it was okay to miss someone, but that he would want you to move on. That he wouldn't want you to be sad forever."_

Sharon had always been a sharp girl, well, as sharp as children can be at the age of six. But Peggy hadn't expected her to still remember her words ten years later and turn them around onto Peggy herself. Maybe that was the point Peggy had allowed herself to let Steve go into history and fully move on, she still had life left.

She had focused entirely on her family, enjoying the opportunities to connect with them since she'd retired from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founding board; S.H.I.E.L.D. had morphed from the S.S.R., and she had been among the few who oversaw this progression, leaving not too long after Howard Stark's death in 1985; he'd been among the last. Dugan, one of the few surviving Commandoes, was still working under Nick Fury. Fury happened to be the last founder still in active service; Phillips had died in the late seventies, Howard not too long after, and then next thing she knew, it was just her left.

_That he left because it was his choice._

Choices. Something that had perhaps cursed this family; Peggy had chosen to grieve; Sharon chose to serve against her mother's wishes. Both had caused rifts in the family – Peggy had lost contact with her brother for almost twenty five years, and Sharon was no longer on speaking terms with her mother.

_Rrrrrring! Rrrrring!_

Peggy flinched, hand reaching for a gun that had not been at her side for several decades now. Frowning, she reached for the rarely – used phone, she'd damn well earned a quiet retirement, and only Nick Fury, Harrison, and Sharon had this number (despite the one call from several months ago; the S.H.I.E.L.D. base in London had tracked down that number to a blocked one in New York City, and after attempting to investigate further, Fury had threatened to court-martial all parties involved if they kept probing. Captain Robert Lawson then right-out lied to Fury, saying that the caller had called the base, not Peggy).

"Hello?" she asked, leaning back into her armchair.

"_Ms. Carter?"_

"Fury. This is an… unexpected surprise," she said, wondering what the director had done _now_. The last time he'd called her out of the blue like this had been to help settle Howard Stark's will when Tony got nitpicky about who got what… even though he wasn't even the executor of the will. "How may I assist you this afternoon?"

"_Please, for my peace of mind, go to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in London until I give the all – clear. We… may have bitten off a little more than we can chew, and your safety is one of my priorities right now."_

Frowning, Peggy mentally went through the last few headlines she'd remembered – not many recent ones, the last ones she'd read were about some fiasco in New Mexico involving Norse god cosplayers – but otherwise couldn't think of anything else that could rile Fury the way he was now. "What happened?" she asked.

Silence. Then, Fury said, "_Remember the Tesseract that Stark pulled from the North Atlantic?"_

Peggy felt herself freeze as she remembered Hydra's secret weapon. Fury had sworn it was in good hands, that it was well protected… "Fury, what have you done?" she whispered in horror as she unconsciously reached for the television remote; just because she watch the news didn't necessarily mean she wanted to, it was nice to live in tranquility every now and then.

A sigh on Fury's end. "_We… miscalculated,_" the director finally admitted. "_Your grand-niece is safe for now, I'd sent her team to Moscow to chase down some rumors of a Winter Soldier lookalike, and she has not been recalled yet."_

Peggy narrowed her eyes, knowing Fury wouldn't have wasted precious resources on something as flimsy as a rumor of sightings of an already mythical being. No, he'd wanted Sharon out of the way for something else; he couldn't have predicted this attack. And even if he could, he would have kept Sharon and her team close to home for extra manpower. "Fury, I'm only going to ask you once. What game were you playing when you sent her?"

A guilty silence; Fury may have been the ultimate spy, but Peggy still remembered the days when he'd just been a sergeant under U.S. Army Captain Sam Sawyer. He may have been the leader of a national security taskforce, but she still outranked him by a mile seeing that she had been among S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founders. Granted, Fury didn't tell her everything, but she didn't want to know everything. "Director, I asked you a question," she finally said quietly as the television flared to life. The headline on the screen screamed, _BREAKING NEWS: MANHATTAN UNDER ATTACK BY ALIENS!_

"_Are you watching the news?"_

"Yes, and are they serious about the alien bit?" Peggy asked, narrowing her eyes as she studied the grainy images that flashed across.

"_Long story short: Asgard exists as do the Norse gods, and Loki, the trickster, used the Tesseract to open a portal for an alien invasion. They've already trashed the helicarrier pretty well._"

"After seeing Hydra in the Second World War, and the Red Room experiments in the Cold War… I'm not surprised. Horrified and worried, yes, but surprised, no," Peggy replied calmly, her mind already calculating the necessary forces for a counter-attack as well as recovery teams. "Will you need reinforcements?"

"_No. Already taken care of."_

Peggy frowned, and then nearly jumped in her seat as the camera focused on a grainy Iron Man, flying straight down a street with a large… creature flying along behind him. Peggy drew in a sharp breath when Iron Man nearly careened into a nearby building but instead managed to go around and disappear, the creature disappearing with him.

Seconds later, an explosion rocked the scenes.

"All by himself? I know you don't like Tony, but isn't this a little… excessive for revenge?" Peggy asked, her mind briefly flashing back to Howard; he'd be tearing himself apart if he knew his only son was throwing himself in the line of fire like this. Even after Howard had tried so hard to distance Tony from such horrors when Tony was growing up.

"_No… he has a team of five others backing him up."_

Again, the slight hitch of hesitation in his voice. "Fury, what are you hiding from me? Is this team the same reason you sent Sharon on a fool's errand?"

"_Not quite_."

At least he admitted to the fool's errand. He was also probably regretting it now.

"Fury, I tire of these games," she said as the footage switched to another source inside the Grand Central train station. She could see countless civilians all huddled together, warily watching the threatening aliens on the upper tier. "What are you not telling me?"

Silence… Fury was stalling. Either he was using the telepathic powers he claimed to not have, knowing she was watching the television and was waiting for her to see something, or he was extremely hesitant to tell her. Peggy was musing over whether to pull rank on him when _it_ came onscreen.

It was the flash of an alien getting tossed over the balcony that caught her eye. A flash of blue, red and white stripes, and a star emblazoned on the chest that followed as a second alien tried to slam his attacker against the railing. The man's helmet was off, and it took Peggy less than five seconds to stare at the struggling man and pull his name from the depths of her memory.

"_Steve?"_ she choked, almost dropping the phone in shock.

"…_are you watching the footage from Manhattan? I thought the civilians would be more focused on getting to safety than filming that."_

"Fury," she said coldly, even as she unconsciously reached for the television screen. "How long did you know?"

He sighed on the other end, somehow managing to sound calm when the entire world was at risk. Then again, he didn't make the post of S.H.I.E.L.D. Director without being able to keep a level head. "_Several months. Yes, I sent Sharon out on a fool's errand because I knew she'd make it extra difficult for him. You Carter women don't trust easily, and after '53, I figured Cap should make the first move. After all, the real one would try to find out what happened to you and the rest of his teammates. He'd know whom to look for. Happy?"_

"No Fury, I'm not. Far from it," Peggy replied curtly.

"_Not to throw him under the bus so soon after his return or anything, but I did give him your information, including your current address and phone number."_

Peggy sighed, finding to her dismay that the television was now focused on the archer – Hawkeye, Peggy guessed, she'd only met him once during a diplomatic function where he'd been serving as extra security to the American ambassador – and he was struggling against two aliens before killing one right there and throwing the other straight over the balcony edge.

"Then where is the Tesseract now?" she asked, frowning as the footage switched again.

"_Sorry ma'am, the World Council is on the line and I have to speak with them. Please take my warning into consideration."_ Then the dial tone replaced Fury's voice, and she knew she wasn't going to hear from him for a while. At least until this horrible fiasco was over that is.

It was times like this that she wished that her age hadn't caught up to her and slowed her mobility down. Her last mission, conducted in 1978, had almost ended in the deaths of everyone involved; they'd been tracking down an illegal weapons operation the Soviets were conducting on the western side of the Iron Curtain, and there were assassins ensuring the smooth transitions; thankfully, the operation leaders were caught before she and her remaining three teammates were targeted, and the assassins vanished without a trace.

Fury hadn't bothered to hunt to hunt the assassins down. He'd said it was enough that the operation was down, there was no need to shake the beehive any more than necessary. Peggy decided a week later to leave S.H.I.E.L.D.; she had done her service, and she had family to care for then.

She still had them too. They still visited her, and Harrison had been delicately suggesting recently that Peggy live in the United States with them. Peggy had just smiled and informed him that she was simply happy where she was, but he persisted anyway.

But Steve's return changed things.

She kept watching the television, just in case it really was him and Fury hadn't lied just to keep her at bay.

_Why haven't you called me yet?_

Fury said he'd passed her file along to him, surely he saw her address. Fury had her phone number, and he said he hadn't held it back. If Steve had been here, _alive_ for several months now, surely he knew how to use the phone at least… it wasn't that far advanced…

What if he'd moved on, assuming the worst of her?

Shame perhaps? That she was old and he wasn't? She didn't want to talk to him? Perhaps she was married? No, her file would have stated that. Her fingers itched to reach the phone, to call him, but even if he wasn't in the middle of saving the world (again), she still didn't know his phone number. If he even had one. She had too many questions, maybe it was a good thing that she couldn't reach him, she'd be on the phone for hours, grilling him and racking up a heck of a bill for them both.

Did he even want to talk? Knowing Steve, assuming he hadn't changed, he'd talk to her if she called whether he wanted to talk or not. Dredging up World War Two would be taking two steps back from his slow road to full recovery, steps that he desperately needed to move on. Maybe a lack of communication between them would allow him to fully accept that she was going to die very soon, and the pain would not be as piercing as it would have been if she'd spoken to him…

_Good God, are you sixteen again or something? Don't just stand there, go talk to him!_

Sharon hadn't been talking to Peggy when she said that, but the memory rose unexpectedly anyway. The two women had been at Liberty Island together, several months before Sharon went to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters to begin the strict training regimen S.H.I.E.L.D. required for all its recruits. There'd been another girl her age nearby, fidgeting and talking with a friend over whether she should approach another tourist and get to know him. Sharon, easily riled sometimes over nothing, finally turned around and said those sixteen words before turning back to Peggy, shaking her head as the offended girl scowled in her direction. Gently admonishing Sharon for her behavior, Peggy took silent comfort in the fact that her niece's temper would be curtailed during training.

Temper or not, Sharon could be helpful in times like these.

She hadn't called either in months. That was to be expected, she was still in Moscow chasing down a dangerous Cold War assassin that even Fury initially balked at chasing… until the assassin hit too close to home, killing American Senator Harry Baxtor. S.H.I.E.L.D. had never been able to confirm if it was an actual assassination or suicide, but it was enough to leave a nice-sized blot on Fury's otherwise clean record.

Sharon always called at the end of the day, once she was able. Her parents would know first, and then she'd call Peggy. That was how they did it from the first mission.

In the end, whatever his reasons, Fury had indeed played it safe, sending Sharon away when Steve apparently returned to the world of the living. Sharon knew how much Steve had meant to Peggy, and leapt to her great-aunt's defense whenever Peggy's sanity was brought into question (this never happened in the boardrooms, the other officials were too smart to question Margaret 'Peggy' Carter, having worked under her for countless years before her retirement). Without the facts, Sharon would have undoubtedly assumed that Steve was intentionally masquerading around as a World War Two war hero in an attempt to claim the fame behind the name.

No, the biggest offender that Sharon dealt with on a semi-daily basis was actually none other than the great Tony Stark.

Tony. Peggy had met him several times over the years, the last meeting being in 1985 at Howard and Maria's funeral. She'd heard second-hand from Harrison about his occasional visits to the Carter home in Virginia, and that some sort of intense rivalry existed between Sharon and Tony. Harrison figured that once Tony stopped visiting after Sharon was turned thirteen, the two would have their own separate spheres in the world – Sharon's in S.H.I.E.L.D. and Tony's in Malibu with Stark Industries – and never have to deal with the other again. In person that is; apparently they still emailed each other, carrying on arguments as before.

It occurred to her then that the television had gone back to the regular news reporters; no more footage. In fact, there was nothing to indicate that her conversation with Fury had ever happened, or that Steve was actually _alive_.

She didn't know whether to cry with relief of his survival, or grief from the memories that his name had evoked.

It wasn't until late evening that Sharon finally called to say that physically, she was fine and back in the United States, but she was also torn up in grief because a close friend – Phil Coulson – had died in the battle for the helicarrier. The two had met because of their mutual interest in Captain America, and their friendship had grown from there. Coulson had been a nice man to her and Peggy.

Men like Coulson were hard to find nowadays.

But, as relieved as she was to know that her great-niece was alive, Peggy couldn't help but wish (selfishly perhaps) that a certain someone else had called her too, to tell her he was alive as well after all this time.

* * *

**A/N: For those who aren't familiar with _everyone_ in Marvel Universe:**

**Harrison Carter: The father of Sharon Carter, and for the purposes of this story, the nephew of Peggy Carter.**

**The dialogue in the beginning, as you'll probably recognize, is from _Captain America: The First Avenger._ The last two bits of dialogue came from my other story _Acceptance._**

**This story will contain spoilers for the _Avengers_ film. Just putting that out there now in the off chance someone who hasn't seen the film yet stumbles across this. It will be about five chapters long.**

**Captain America and all related media belong to Marvel.**


	2. Memorial

**II**

**Memorial**

* * *

"What the hell happened to you?"

Startled by Natasha Romanov's frank question, Steve Rogers turned his seat to look up at the question's recipient… and stared.

Tony Stark shrugged with one shoulder, as though sporting a massive left black eye was nothing new to him. "Found the agent that Fury hired to replace Agent Coulson, and was a little frank with her. Forgot that she already hated me for perceived slights in the past," he said, sitting down in the pew next to Steve. "Good news is she's improved with her punches, there wasn't a lot of force the last time she socked me."

"What did you say to her?" Natasha whispered, narrowing her eyes.

Tony shrugged. "My personal opinion. It's not my fault she can't accept other points of view with an open mind."

"That depends on what your personal opinion was," Natasha whispered back, audibly forcing herself to keep her voice down; they all were in a church after all. "Shockingly enough Tony, not everyone wants to hear what you have to say."

"They ought to. I do have good ideas. I didn't hear you complaining about the shawarma. Or tag-teaming against the crazy Russian, Ivan Vanko," Tony whispered back.

Steve had to physically block Natasha while Clint restrained her from launching herself at Tony.

Fury had waited a week after the alien invasion was stopped to announce that S.H.I.E.L.D. was holding a memorial service for Agent Phil Coulson, and that the ceremony would be in one week. There was not going to be a funeral in Arlington; while Coulson had most certainly earned his place there, Coulson's family, all living on the west coast, had asked that Fury give them privacy and that they wanted a small affair near the family home. It was the most Fury could give them, beyond condolences, and he'd asked the Avengers to give the family space.

Steve hadn't realized how many people Coulson had touched until today. Before the Avengers Initiative was even an idea, Coulson had been the primary handler for Hawkeye and later, Black Widow. He'd also overseen the recruitment efforts for Special Operations within S.H.I.E.L.D. even though it was not a part of his duties as department head. It wasn't until Tony made headlines by returning from Afghanistan and shutting down Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing plants that Coulson was reassigned to Tony. It was Obadiah Stane and his failed take-over of Stark Industries that birthed the idea of the Avengers, when Fury realized that maybe there were bigger sharks out there that weren't a part of an old terrorist organization.

Men and women that Steve didn't recognize and most likely wouldn't remember later came up to the podium to talk. All were in their navy blue S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms; some stuttered and tried not to cry through their piece, others maintained a steady tone. One, a man named Clay Quartermain, said his bit before hesitating, and then saying he was going to speak in a friend's stead; she did not have the heart to stand up in front of strangers and not break down.

Coulson's love for Captain America was mentioned once, in the absent friend's speech. It was something the two had in common, and, after she'd passed her exams and joined the force full time, the friendship between the two started to grow from there. He'd actually been more of a mentor throughout the process, and now there was nothing she could do to repay him for his kindness.

Out of the Avengers, Natasha was the only one who got up to say something. Coulson had spared her life, at that critical moment when Fury was debating whether he should kill the Russian assassin or not. She kept her piece short and to the point, very much in her style.

Steve wondered how many people would stay behind after the service, to say the things to an empty room that they didn't have the heart or courage to say in front of others, or things that were meant for Coulson alone to hear.

Tony of course kept his peace until they were leaving the small church amongst the throngs of S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel.

"Service was actually quite nice, didn't know he was that popular around the place," he said as the Avengers – sans Thor, who was still on Asgard – walked down the small steps and moved off to the side to allow everyone else to leave without bumping into them.

"That's because you were always too involved with _you_ to run background checks on him, and so never saw the list of things he did before you popped up onto the news," Natasha said curtly. "And you wonder how A.I.M. and Hydra got a hold of your weaponry frequently. A little background check would have rooted out half of the spies and informants deliberately planted in Stark Industries. You can thank Coulson for arranging for the arrest of those individuals and clearing them out of your company."

Steve was impressed that Tony stopped his smartass response just in time; whatever he'd been about to say would probably have been disrespectful. To speak ill of the dead would have been to provoke a fight from one of the other hot-tempered mourners. Instead, Tony said, "I'll do that before I head back to Malibu. Bruce and I have a lab with our names on it back there, and I'd like to get it before someone on the exec board decides to try kick me off again in the light of recent events."

"Right. Because _that_ hasn't happened before," a cool female voice cut in.

Steve looked up as Tony turned around. A blond S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was standing there, hair swept back in a ponytail and blue eyes narrowed at Tony. A thin yet visible scar ran down from the side of her right eye to halfway down her cheek. She didn't seem to either notice or acknowledge the others standing there. A small number patch with a sewn _13 _was visible on her shoulder.

"Ah, Thirteen. Here to finish what we started before the service?" Tony asked lightly, giving her one of his trademark grins. "I'd prefer if you could aim your next swing to the left and get my nose or the other eye. I need to see out of my right eye."

She gives him a thin smile. "It's generally considered poor form to start a brawl at a memorial service or a funeral," she replied.

"Right. Because _that_ hasn't happened before," Tony mocked, throwing her words right back at her.

"Funny how warped a story can get when told out of context. Like your suicidal tendencies a while back," she countered. "Mom _freaked_ out when she saw the news stories…"

"Touching, but irrelevant. Tell her I appreciate the concern, but it wasn't necessary," Tony interrupted.

"Then stop calling the kettle black." Steve could tell that Thirteen wasn't really in the mood for a fight, but she was letting Tony push her there anyway. Glancing back, Thirteen hesitated before she said, "Anyway, I have two messages. Two messages and a warning, actually."

"Quick question before you tell us. How much time passed between Coulson's death and Fury appointing you to be his replacement?" Tony said, lowering his sunglasses to get a better look at her.

Thirteen's stance shifted; she felt threatened. Steve moved closer to the duo, ready to step in between them.

Then she jutted her chin out defiantly and said coldly, "None."

There was a momentary silence, and even Steve felt the sucker punch to the gut. Coulson had been loyal to the end, and he was replaced immediately at his death. Steve didn't know if that was common practice in S.H.I.E.L.D., being constantly at war did mean that Fury had to have officers in the correct places in order to keep things running smoothly, but if Clint's and Natasha's expressions were anything to go by, that was not the case.

Satisfied that Tony was too thunderstruck to interrupt, Thirteen plowed on ahead. "The warning is that Fury is _pissed_ with you for leaking the Phase 2 plans and existence to the retired members of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founders board. Which we both know is one person at this point in time. First message: said founder wants you to call her immediately. Second message: Fury wants to talk to you _all_ about an upcoming meeting that he expects you all to be at before you disperse again."

"Coulson at least delivered his messages in a less hostile manner," Tony replied smoothly.

"Watch it Stark, or I just might take you up on your offer to finish what we started here and now," she snapped. "Just… just be glad you had a chance to speak to him before he died. I last saw him _months_ ago, before I was sent out to Moscow on some stupid fool's errand." Blue eyes flickered in Steve's direction briefly before returning to Tony. "We were supposed to have coffee when I got back."

"Sorry to hear that, but life's not fair. Which we all know," Tony said, starting to turn away.

Steve moved right as she did, putting himself between Tony and her and absorbing the impact as she realized the intervention too late and tried to backpedal. The result was the two stumbling, and her clutching tightly to Steve's jacket sleeves for support. For a moment, neither of them said anything.

Then she let go as though he'd burned her, taking a few steps away. "My apologies, Captain Rogers," she said stiffly. She looked past Steve and said, "Director Fury expects you all on the bridge of the helicarrier in two hours." Then without another word she turned around and left.

"Don't worry Cap, she's always like that," Tony said, appearing at Steve's side. "Spent six summers with her, and she's hated me ever since."

"Family friend then?" Steve asked, looking at Tony.

"No."

"Ah." Steve watched as she joined a man not in a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform, but stood out anyway because of the large red hawk that was perched on his shoulder. "Who is he?"

"Sam Wilson. They're pals, Coulson introduced them. The two of them apparently also agreed not to date each other, too weird." Tony glanced at Steve and added, "Just in case you were thinking of dating her."

"Ah, actually, no I wasn't. Not if she's made it quite clear that I'm not welcome for reasons I don't understand," Steve replied, recalling her unease and hesitancy toward him.

"Trust me, when you find out her name, it will make perfect sense," Tony assured him before glancing back at the others. "We should probably get going…"

"What's her name?" Steve blurted, turning to Tony.

He only smirked. Putting a friendly hand on Steve's shoulder, he said, "Cap, as much as I love our friendship, I kind of don't want to give her another reason to hate me. Her name, her secret. Besides, Fury will most likely tell all of us soon enough anyway." To the team, he said, "Now come on. I've got a one-thirty appointment with the Secretary of Defense, and that's one meeting I can't ditch or he'll push Stark Industries into bankruptcy by next week."

Steve glanced back at the retreating duo, and caught Thirteen's eye as she glanced back at the Avengers. She scowled and immediately turned away from him.

Yes, she definitely wasn't interested in dating. Steve really needed to brush up on the latest dating cues before attempting anything of the sort.

* * *

Fury was already at his displays on the helicarrier's bridge when the Avengers walked in and sat down at the circular table where it all started, all those weeks ago. Steve almost jumped back up when he realized that the woman from earlier, Agent Thirteen, was there as well, talking quietly off to the side with Maria Hill. The agent spared them all a brief glance before going back to her conversation. She seemed calmer now, if the slight smile was anything to go by.

"Sit," Fury snapped as Tony drifted closer to his displays, and Steve rolled his eyes at Tony's slight whine at Fury always cutting him out of the fun stuff. Turning to face the Avengers, Fury said, "I'm only keeping you all here together for a couple more days while Carter and I here sort out the few legal technicalities and the one meeting that requires your presence."

_Carter?_

Now, as Thirteen turned back to face the group and join Fury at the head, Steve could see the vague family resemblance, faint traces of Peggy that were almost too hard to miss. While she could have just been another Carter with the coincidental last name, Steve just _knew_ – her posture screamed military, and she carried herself almost the same way Peggy did during her days as an Intelligence agent.

Of course, now that Steve thought back on it, he did remember that Peggy mentioned a brother once.

"What kind of technical legalities are we talking about, sir?" Steve finally asked, making a point to look at Fury.

"For the most part, smoothing over ruffled bureaucratic feathers," Carter said, her earlier hostility completely gone now. "In this case, the fate of Phase 2. For now, the project will be shelved until further notice."

"Why not completely dismantled?" Steve asked, sensing that familiar flare of anger he'd first felt when he found out about Fury's duplicity. "Take away the risk of it ever falling into Hydra hands again?"

"We need to keep our options open, Captain," she said, steadily meeting his gaze. "What about that one day in the future when the Avengers are dismantled, spread out too far, or otherwise unavailable? I am well aware that the future is a frightening prospect for you right now, but some of us prefer to plan for it."

"I know that, I've worked with Mr. Stark already," Steve said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "It's just that S.H.I.E.L.D. based those plans off of weaponry from a terrorist organization that took out many good men and women during the Second World War. Weaponry that I'm sure there are many surviving veterans that would feel strongly against perpetrating."

Something in her eyes flashed; she'd caught and understood the jibe, confirming for Steve as to who her family was. Somehow keeping the smile in place despite the temper, she said, "Is it worth killing countless agents and soldiers in a near impossible fight when the problem could have been handled in one strike?"

"Easy there, you're going into sensitive issues here," Tony said, looking up suddenly.

"We'll discuss this later," Carter said, stepping away from Steve and looking at the others. "As I was saying, Phase 2 was shelved until further notice. However, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s surviving founders has agreed to appear before the United Nations to appeal the Avengers' case."

"As of right now, the Avengers are temporarily suspended from duty because the World Security Council threw a fit that my way actually worked, not theirs," Fury said. "This does _not_ mean the Avengers are shut down permanently," he said, overriding whatever protests Tony was on the verge of making. "Before the founder appears before the United Nations however, she will be coming here to the helicarrier so that we can plan out our case. She's also interested in meeting you."

"Who is she?" Steve asked.

"For security purposes, we will introduce her when she comes," Carter said coolly. "Not before."

"In the meantime, I'm going to ask you all to stay within New York City until she arrives in a week," Fury said calmly. "She'll take two days to settle down, clear up some things with Carter and me, and then we'll have the big get-together," he said, glancing briefly at Carter, who frowned slightly, but then her expression cleared up again and she looked away.

Straightening up, Fury said, "That about covers it. Carter? Hill? Anything to add?"

"Stark, _stay out of our systems_. We just fixed them," Hill snapped from where she was standing near Sitwell.

"No, sir." Carter didn't even look at Steve or Fury, finding the table to be more interesting.

"Very well then. Dismissed."

As Steve started to get up, Tony walked over to where Fury was standing. "How much time passed until you replaced Coulson?" he demanded.

"Stark, your loyalty to Coulson is truly remarkable," Fury said, moving slightly as though to put himself between Carter and Tony. Carter, Steve noticed, had paused in the gathering of her papers. "_However_," Fury continued, "Coulson was an extremely integral part of S.H.I.E.L.D. operations. I can't have a valuable piece like him missing for too long, so I replaced him as soon as I could. Carter _will_ be your liaison, and you _will_ show her the same respect as you gave Coulson."

"Tony-" Steve began.

"No. Did you even grieve, Fury? Or is there something you're not telling us?" Tony asked, eyes narrowing. Behind him, Widow arched an eyebrow.

"_For God's sake_ Tony!" Carter snapped, turning around. "We're not the automatons that you and the damned media make us out to be! I, much less the freaking _Director,_ can't grieve right now when we're trying to keep the UN off _your_ back just because they want someone to blame for New freakin' York!"

Steve stepped in before Carter could flatten Tony. "Tony, lay off both of them. Now and here is not the time or place for this discussion," he said, gently pushing the two apart. Carter, to his mild surprise, did not rip his hand off her shoulder. "We're all tired, grieving, and stressed. If you want to continue, at least wait until everyone's calmed down."

Steve half expected Tony to pursue, but thankfully, he backed down.

"We'll reconvene in several days. Stay in touch," Fury said. "Dismissed."

Steve turned to Agent Carter, who was still standing awkwardly there. "Are you all right, ma'am?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "I'm sorry for, um, earlier at the service. I was way out of line, and I was letting Tony get to me," she said, studiously avoiding his gaze. "Thank you, for just now."

"You're welcome." Steve hesitated, wondering if it would be appropriate to ask her his question. Then, when eh noticed she'd arched an eyebrow in curiosity, he asked, "If you don't mind, do you know anyone named Peggy Carter? Her full name was Margaret."

She knew Peggy; Steve saw it the moment her features rearranged her face into something expressionless. "With all due respect, Captain, I _do_ mind," she said finally. "Besides, I was under the impression that you were given her files. It may not be the forties anymore, but a girl still appreciates a phone call from a cute guy in this century."

"Yes, but – "

"If you'll excuse me, I have tasks to complete before the end of the next shift cycle. Please, if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask," she said before stepping around him and walking away, joining Fury for a few moments for a bowed-heads discussion before promptly leaving.

Steve sighed, and then left, suddenly unsure of what to do now. He'd already called Peggy once, but panicked, forgot everything he was going to say, and hung up when she came on the line. While tempted to try again, he still didn't know what he could say to her.

What would she have to say to him anyway?

* * *

**A/N: I don't have anything against Tony Stark. I swear I don't. Anyway, might have a mini-chapter up sooner than Saturday, so stay tuned! (There also might be a bit of language, just as a warning). Next update will be Wednesday, and we'll get back to our weekend updates :)**

**Also, I will be keeping a short list of stories receiving an update on my profile, if you're ever curious about when the next one is coming.**


	3. Error

**III**

**Error**

* * *

"I fucked up."

"Don't say that, it was only your first day on the job."

Sharon Carter didn't remove her face from her hands. "I let Tony get under my skin and lost my temper, all in front of my charges. How is that _not_ a mistake?"

A sigh. "Tony requires a special brand of patience and stubbornness. You'll get better as time goes on."

"You don't get it," Sharon said, looking up. She was well aware she looked like a complete mess; it was past midnight and she was pushing a full twenty-four hours of being awake. At least while she'd been in Moscow, she and her three teammates had taken shifts when staking out a potential hideout for a group of Soviet Union loyalists. "Because Aunt Peggy knew Howard Stark, Tony was at my house for six summers until I was twelve and all but drove him out of the state. I was such a little _monster_ then. This is his revenge!"

A laugh this time. "It's all right, Sharon. This is a huge responsibility, and it wasn't fair of Fury to dump it on you right as you got home for the first time in months."

"I still screwed it up. I snapped at _Captain America _for crying out loud!"

Sharon slumped in her seat, but relinquished her hand when she felt the other seeking it out as though for comfort. "Everyone is just still unsettled by the alien invasion. All I can suggest for the future is work on holding your temper in check."

"You make it look easy."

"That's because I've had practice. I knew what I was getting into when I signed up. Fury at least will cut you slack in the beginning, he knows that it wasn't fair of him to dump this all on you when you weren't ready."

"Then why did _I _get picked for this?"

"Because you were the best candidate at the time. You knew the ropes, and that was the swing factor in Fury's decision. You're not alone. I'm here, Fury, as unapproachable as he may seem, is also here."

Sharon felt the slight squeeze around her fingers, and bowed her head to take solace in such a simple gesture.

"What is going to happen next?"

"My great-aunt is coming, she wants to talk to Fury, and then the Avengers. About what, I don't know. I just know that she's coming soon, once she feels ready to travel and everything's calmed down," Sharon said, looking up. Grimacing, she said, "I bet Cap's just _waiting _to rat me out for being so awful…"

"Captain Rogers isn't like Tony, I promise. Tony, well, I can't promise what he might or might not do." Squeezing her hand again, and then "But just keep it professional from here on out, save your anger for the punching bags."

Sharon nodded quietly before hugging herself slightly. "This is all messed up," she whispered, drawing her knees close to her body and resting her chin there. "You're there, I'm here, and the Avengers are the hottest topic in politics, and…" she let her voice trail off, ducking her face out of sight.

A soft chuckle. "Tell me about the Moscow trip. I didn't get to read that particular report."

"Dead end. Fury sent us there to get rid of me because of Captain America," she said, scowling as she looked up.

"He was just worried you'd skin the poor man before he even had a chance to get back on his feet."

"I'm not _that_ volatile!" At the pointed look, she calmed down and slumped in her chair again. "Fine, fine, Fury may have had a point. But it would have been nice to know, I mean, if I'd known, I could have been here, help fought…"

"You may have been among the dead. Not only would your parents grieve, but also would your great-aunt. Even you wouldn't want to do that to her." A pause to breathe, and then "Speaking of which, how is she?"

"As fine as she could be, given the circumstances. It's not fair that she has to get dragged out of retirement just because the World Council is angry with Fury. This whole thing with the pissed politicians is just completely stupid, the Avengers saved their fucking lives and-"

"Sharon, take it easy. Everything will turn out fine, I promise. I've been at this long enough to know that Fury knows what he's doing."

"I _know_, it's just that…" Sharon sighed, defeated. She couldn't think, could barely function she was so exhausted. She briefly entertained the thought of going to bed and just sleeping, but then remembered the mountain of paperwork waiting for her back in her quarters. "I don't know how you managed this," she said finally, sagging in the hard plastic chair. "All of this."

A soft laugh, which turned into a series of violent coughs. Sharon winced, and then began to stand up. "I should let you sleep, I'm sorry for bothering you," she said, carefully wiggling her hand out of the weak grip.

"To be honest, you look like you're the one who desperately needs to sleep. How long has it been since you slept?"

She shrugged. "I lost track."

"You need sleep. You'll feel much better and less overwhelmed."

"But Fury-"

"Will understand. Believe it or not, he sleeps too."

She sighed. "I don't know if I can come back soon," she said, picking up her jacket. Her civilian one, she was going home to her apartment in the city below. She was one of the lucky few whose apartments managed to escape unscathed from recent activity.

"Well, it's not like I'm going anywhere, am I?"

"You could come to my apartment to crash, you know, once you get out of here. I imagine you'll want a serious change in scenery after spending _weeks_ here," she said, grinning slightly as she slipped her jacket on. Her smile faded when she thought of something. "Is there anything you want me to do?"

"Bring more reading material. I don't care if it's a gossip magazine, just _something_. Anything is better than listening to numerous shouting matches through the day and night."

Sharon smiled. "Well, lucky for you, I know just the thing," she said before reaching out and squeezing the nearby hand. "I'll try to come back when I can."

"But not at the risk of your own health."

Sharon laughed, pleased to get a smile again. "Sure thing. See you later," she said before scooping up her purse and leaving the room.

* * *

**A/N: I said it was short, didn't I? I'm having fun with this ;)**


	4. Case

**IV**

**Case**

* * *

"Director Fury."

The director nodded stiffly in greeting as Peggy stepped off the small aircraft and onto the helicarrier deck. "It is good to see you," she said, offering a friendly smile that in no way betrayed what she was thinking.

"It is good to see you too, ma'am," he said, gesturing for her to follow him off the deck of the helicarrier. "I trust your accommodations are fine?"

"Yes, thank you. Sharon is always happy to have me, and she introduced me to Sam Wilson last night. If they weren't already such close friends, I'd have thought they were dating."

"Well, they are in separate departments, but I'm not going to encourage anything. Dating tends to screw agents up rather than help them around here, Hill and I have thought about banning such a thing, but Coulson was able to make a case for them, saying the few mission incidents between partners were rare enough as it was and didn't create a disturbing trend. Doesn't stop me from being leery about it."

Peggy sighed. "Life is short even without the added dangers. _Carpe diem_, Fury, _carpe diem_, because today may be the last day an agent ever has." She tried not to think of that stolen chance back in Switzerland, all those years ago, and tried not to hope too much that she might have an unexpected second chance. Sharon had been vague about Captain America, mumbling and half-answering Peggy's questions, and not because it was matter of top security. "Has Sharon met Captain America yet?" she finally asked, fearing the worst.

"Yes. Hard to figure out what vibes they were sending to each other, apparently they ran into each other at the memorial service before. Apparently it is possible to argue without ever raising your voice or tone. They're going to get along _fantastically_," Fury said, rolling his eye.

Peggy unfortunately couldn't tell how much of that was sarcasm or not.

Fury meanwhile fell in step beside her and said, "We do appreciate you speaking on our behalf to the United Nations."

She was quiet for a little while as they entered the interior of the helicarrier. Then she finally said as they entered the command center, "Do not worry about it, I'm still grateful that we still have a chance to salvage the situation." Taking the offered seat at the glass table, she said, "Now I just want from you right now, a run down of this Phase 2 business. Just so that I am not caught unawares when the Security Council brings it up during the hearing."

"Phase 2 was the plan in case there was a full invasion of Earth," Fury said, crossing his hands. "Using technology from WWII-era Hydra weapons, we _were _in the process of creating a nuclear-powered weapon that would serve as a last resort in case of a, say, alien invasion from another dimension. We… also had technology adapted from the Asgardian Destroyer, recovered in New Mexico after leveling a whole town. Ironically, that is what started this whole Phase 2 business in the first place." He narrowed his one eye at her and said, "There's your run down."

"Who made the call for the strike?"

"The Security Council. It would have wiped out the entirety of Manhattan off the face of the map," Fury said, scowling. "I gave orders to contradict the Council, to save people. They were asking for mass destruction when the Avengers had the situation under control."

"Devil's Advocate now," Peggy said, leaning back in her chair. "How was it that the Avengers had the situation under control?"

"They took charge, set up and maintained a perimeter, and kept the damage contained. Hundreds of people were able to escape the city alive, thanks to the efforts of the National Guard, police, firefighters, and paramedics. Yes, there were deaths, but this was war. You can't fight a war without expecting casualties."

Peggy didn't say anything to Fury's calm logic. "What about the level of collateral damage? Those who are missing? The cost of repairs?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is cooperating in the rebuilding and recovery efforts," Fury said calmly. "Agents are working in shifts around the clock to catalogue who is still missing, and what has been done so far to counter failings."

"Failings? Such as?" Peggy prompted.

"With the population being as it is, always moving, it's hard to keep track of who is who. It doesn't help that a lot of landlords have incomplete, missing or otherwise inadequate records. That is not S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fault. Also, insurance companies are on the verge of collapse, and Manhattan generally isn't a good place to be at the moment," Fury said, trying to keep his temper in check.

"Yet here we are," Peggy said, looking up at him inquisitively.

"Yes, here we are." Fury was quiet for another couple of minutes before he said, "I suspect that our reluctance to use the nuclear missile will be their main argument. Then the cancellation of Phase 2 will be their next complaint."

"How exactly did you leap from Asgardian threats to a full scale invasion of the Earth in the first place?" Peggy asked, leaning back in her chair. "From the New Mexico incident that is."

"It just showed me that we weren't as alone in this universe as I'd like to think. Who knows what else is out there? We got lucky with the Destroyer and that Thor was there to deal with it. We were lucky again when the Chitauri came and invaded Earth, and that the Avengers were around. Next time, we may not be so lucky. If Thor had not come, we would never have had to destroy the Destroyer and attract unwanted attention?" Fury asked.

"If you ask me, winning against the Chitauri was also broadcasting human capabilities to all life forms," Peggy said, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes, and I am well aware of the repercussions. But I'm also hoping that there's an extraterrestrial race out there intelligent enough to think twice before deciding to make a labor force out of the Earth's population," Fury said.

"What if they still invade after that?" Peggy asked.

"Then that's their problem, not mine. I'll be here to teach them why that the decision was not a good one," Fury countered.

"That will not be good enough for the Council, and you know it," Peggy said, leaning back in her seat.

"Then I trust you enough to make up for any shortcomings that you can think of," Fury said irritably. "The Council knows very well that I have plenty to do without them nagging on me about this. I _still_ do not have a final casualty count, and that's just for S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel. AS much as I feel for the populace, I do have my own men and women to look for, and with all due respect to the populations, my people take precedence over them right now. Maria is dealing with the civilians, not me, so I don't have any information prevalent to the general populace."

Peggy reached out and lightly placed her hand on his. "We'll work through that. That's why I'm here." She stood up. "Now, I want to meet the team. Where are they?"

"Let me call the liaison officer, and she'll make sure they're ready," Fury said, reaching for his communicator.

Peggy stood back, and patiently waited while he called.

* * *

Steve could only imagine the identity of this S.H.I.E.L.D. founder, especially since she could provoke such varied responses from his teammates as they all waited in the conference room.

Banner was waiting patiently in his seat, his eyes closed as he dozed. He was completely relaxed, unlike Steve; the two were the same in that they did not know who was coming, and Steve was something of nervous wreck; only years of military training and service kept his body still.

Natasha seemed indifferent, her fingers lightly tapping the table surface as her eyes flickered between Clint and Tony. Clint, as Steve expected, followed Natasha's example and was leaning against the back of his chair as he stared at the ceiling. His bow was propped up against the table, visible enough to make a person think twice but hidden so that it was not accidentally perceived as a threat. Thor had yet to return from Asgard, so he was going to escape the inevitable unknown.

Tony, on the other hand, was a complete mess.

"She's gonna kill me... one of them is bad enough, but both? Why not call in the rest of the cavalry while we're at it? Okay, so I stopped calling after two years on my own, but it was a _glorious_ time after I stopped that. Besides, I still send a Christmas card to both every year -"

"You mean _Pepper_ sent those cards, and you just wrote your name on them, right?" Natasha suddenly said, looking up at Tony.

"Actually, she wrote my name too. So I kept them on my mailing list, that ought to count for something!" Tony said, waving his arms about before he resumed his pacing.

"Clearly not, since you're still agitated about it," Natasha said. "Will you just calm down? She's here to talk to _all_ of us, not just you."

"She'll catch me on the way out," Tony countered.

"On the contrary, she'll be more interested in other members of our party to pay you much attention. It's our new liaison officer that you have to worry about," Natasha calmly replied.

"Yes, while we're on that subject, who the _hell_ suggested her?" Tony demanded. "My life is getting complicated as it is, I don't need a pissy woman with a gun to deal with too!"

"Oh really? Keep going and you'll have _two_ pissy women with guns to deal with," Natasha warned.

"Did it ever occur to you that it's your sort of attitude that chases guys off?" Tony snapped, turning to face her. Steve noticed Clint suddenly look up, a faint expression of alarm crossing his face.

Natasha smiled sweetly. "Oh, Tony. My first lover taught me to be like this, alluring to targets and off-putting to unwanted, off-mission advances. It was all a part of the act. But for him and me, it was real."

"Oh yeah? Where's he now? Did he finally call an end to it?"

Clint was frantically drawing a line across his throat to give Tony the hint to shut up, but the billionaire missed it completely as he resumed his pacing, but never looked away from Natasha, whose smile was frozen now.

"He's gone. When our superiors found out, they electrocuted him into submission. The man I knew and loved died that day, and is dead to me now," she said coldly, leaning back in her chair in deceptive calm.

"Oh."

Before Tony could resume his maniacal pacing, the conference room doors opened, and Agent Carter stepped in. "Director Fury wants to know if you're all ready for the visitor," she said crisply, frowning at Tony's agonized expression. "What's wrong now?"

"Her."

For Steve at least, it was hard to tell if Tony was referring to the founder, Natasha, or both. Carter, having stepped into the room at the argument's end, obviously interpreted it as fear of the founder. "Tony, today, she has bigger fish to fry than you. Specifically star-spangled fish," she said, pointedly ignoring Steve in favor of gazing steadily at Tony. "If you're worried about a woman coming after you, worry about me, Widow, or any one of your past girlfriends."

"How about just you and I'll take a rain check with Widow?"

Carter stared at him. "What did you say _now_?"

"Nothing that does not and will ever not concern you," Tony said amiably, smiling at her scowl. Turning to the rest of the Avengers, he asked, "Folks, are we ready to say hello to the second – to – last surviving S.H.I.E.L.D. founder?"

"Are you team leader?" Carter asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Not quite. Cap and I juggle duties," Tony said, nodding to Steve, who glanced at Carter in confirmation.

"Congratulations for the dual leadership," Carter said before disappearing again.

"Coulson would have been on top of that already!" Tony shouted after her. He suddenly flinched and moved out of the doorway. "She pointed her gun at me," he said by way of explanation to Steve, who had jumped when Tony flinched.

"Too bad she didn't actually take the shot," Natasha growled from where she was sitting.

"Well, as she's told me once before, there's no sport in shooting a stationary target, and she'd decided a long time ago that I'm already a waste of effort on her part. That's how I know she won't bother me anytime soon. _You_ on the other hand…"

"I'm not interested in that giggly girl stuff, so you can stop that train of thought right now," Natasha said as she leaned back in her chair.

"Good, because I don't think she is either. I was going to say you could bond over guns and explosives, and annoying S.H.I.E.L.D. guys…"

"Again, I don't do the giggly girl stuff," Natasha snapped.

"I said annoying guys in that you drive them crazy, not that you gossip about them. Sharon's not much of a giggly girl either because she was the type of kid who got into scrapes on the playground over the stupidest things. She always had a friend or two to back her up, and I've noticed that habit stayed with her even now," Tony said.

"_Tony! I can hear you all the way down the hall!"_

"What exactly is your relationship with her now?" Steve asked, resisting the urge to look down the hall after Carter.

"Hell if I know. Her mood swings are worse than a pendulum," Tony said, rolling his eyes.

"I take it you're talking from experience?"

"Ahem."

Steve looked up in slight alarm to find Carter standing in the doorway, glaring at Tony. "I turn my back for what, five minutes? And you're already talking about me again? You're worse than a gossip sometimes-"

"Respect. Give it, get it," Tony countered, and Carter just sighed in defeat, a complete one eighty from what Steve expected her.

In fact, she completely ignored Tony in favor of someone or something behind her. "Ms. Carter, these are the Avengers, Earth's mightiest heroes," she said in a formal tone, a professional façade dominating her features.

_What?_

Director Fury slipped in first, moving like a shadow to the back of the room. Steve found himself slowly standing as an elderly woman walked into the room next, head held high and proud as she calmly walked to her seat without assistance, even resting a hand on an anxious Agent Carter's arm and whispering something to her, something that prompted the younger woman to back off.

Now that they were side by side, Steve could definitely see the family resemblance between them.

Despite her age, and the unfamiliar S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform (early version of the modern uniform perhaps?), Steve still recognized her almost immediately. After all, it was hard to forget someone who had fought with you, flirted with you, loved you, and Steve was grateful that despite the years stretching between the two, he still recognized Peggy Carter as though they'd only parted for a day. She truly was unforgettable.

She finally noticed him, and he recognized the familiar warmth in her eyes.

"Captain Rogers," she said finally, her voice as clear as a bell. "You're late."

Steve smiled, and for the first time, he was glad to hear that phrase. "Sorry, ma'am," he said with a faint smile before sitting down after Peggy had.

Peggy smiled once more at him, but he still caught the hidden 'we're going to talk later' message before she turned to survey the rest of the team.

"So," she said. "Shall we get started?"

* * *

**A/N: One more chapter left. Decided not to do the meeting for this story, it would have been repeating information that we all know already. **


	5. Finale

**V**

**Finale**

* * *

"_I was a quick, wet, boy, diving too deep for coins, all of your street light eyes, wide on my plastic, toys, and when the cops, closed the fair-"_

"What do you think?"

Sharon nearly jumped out of her skin when Tony approached her from behind. "Blackmail material?" he asked, easily catching her dropped iPhone.

"Nah, I'm recording just for memory's sake. This is the third song, any more will take up the rest of the camera's memory," she said, stopping the recording and tucking the iPhone away into her pocket. She turned and leaned on the counter and stared out the observation window as her aunt and Captain Rogers (_finally_) got their long, overdue dance together in what was technically a holographic training room, but was programmed to mimic one of the clubs in World War Two – era London. Peggy had insisted on the red dress for some odd reason, but whatever the case was, the two looked comfortable, even happy together. Any of the pretension during the (several tedious hours long) meeting had long since melted away into comfortable familiarity. "I'd thought that Aunt Peggy would want to watch it again whenever she got lonely again. Anyway, they do look happy, though," she said, leaning back on a foot.

"Honestly? This story's ending has got so much sugar in it, I can feel my teeth slowly rotting away right now," Tony said, moving to stand next to her. "But yeah, they don't look so lost anymore."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "You're just saying that because you don't want to say 'Yes, they do look happy', because that would qualify as agreeing with me, and God _forbid_ you ever agree with me on anything."

"Don't flatter yourself. I do agree with you on occasion. I just choose not to agree with you out loud because it bothers the hell out of you when it appears that I constantly disagree with you. Besides, you agree with _me_ more often anyway, you just don't notice it because my presence is irritating you too much to notice much else. Follow?" Tony said, glancing down at her.

"It's nice to know that even though you don't make weapons anymore, you're still the same, irritating person I knew while growing up," Sharon said, pocketing her phone. "Here, make yourself useful if you're going to just stand there and gawk. When this song ends, put on _'We'll Meet Again'_, by Vera Lynn." Turning, she said, "Do as I say, and I won't tell Aunt Peggy about the racecar thing in Italy."

"Hey! My life was on the _line _in Italy! If Vanko…"

"I wasn't talking about Vanko," Sharon countered before leaving the observation deck and Tony.

"Wait, where are you going?" Tony shouted after her.

"Bathroom! Geez Tony, I'm a grown woman! I can take care of myself, you know!" Sharon snapped back, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration. Before she could chew him out further though, Tony disappeared back into the observation room. Muttering to herself, Sharon turned and kept walking down the hall.

The corridor was dimly – lit and quiet, but Sharon ignored this as she kept walking toward the medical bay, still slightly miffed at Tony's bad timing; she really hadn't wanted to talk to him, but she'd wanted to continue filming, just so Peggy would have something to look back on during those long rainy days when the memories threatened to overwhelm her again. She couldn't do that with Tony breathing down her neck.

Well, there had been another, more selfish reason, for the filming.

Doctor Sanderson, reigning chief physician in the helicarrier's medical bay, looked up when she entered the pristine environment. "Carter," he said brusquely before going back to his clipboard and thick sheaf of papers.

"Sanderson," she replied; they'd been doing this sort of greeting exchange for too long, starting back when she'd been a patient here herself. Now she was only a visitor, but the irritation between the two remained.

"You come here more frequently than the others," Sanderson finally remarked, not looking up from his clipboard.

"Do the others have as much free time as I do?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Touché."

It was nothing personal. Fury did have an entire taskforce to run, Hill was too busy making sure everything ran smoothly and both were still handling the New York crisis. All five people involved in this situation right now were well aware of that.

"Well, he's in the back, in his usual place. It's late, so if he's asleep, or wants to sleep, let him sleep," Sanderson said, keeping his voice down as he went back to his documents.

Sharon understood the unspoken order; she was never here in this facility because she wasn't visiting a patient, who, according to S.H.I.E.L.D. records, didn't exist.

Down the narrow corridor, past the current hospital patients, there was a barely – used staircase. Making sure that her iPhone was still secure in her pocket, she continued walking calmly down the staircase and down another corridor to a single door at the very end. After swiping her S.H.I.E.L.D. ID card and bending down to let the machine scan her retinas, Sharon slipped noiselessly into the much smaller, quiet medical ward for certain patients.

Only Sanderson and a very select few of his staff knew about this place. Sharon only found out about it less than a couple weeks ago, when Fury brought her down here several days after the alien invasion to better explain her new role in the S.H.I.E.L.D. hierarchy.

She hadn't lied to Tony when she said that no time had passed between her promotion and Coulson's death.

She finally got to the last door at the end of the ward and lightly knocked on the door, the same three taps she'd done for all her previous visits. She heard a faint 'Come in!' and then entered the small white room.

"Wow, you're looking much better," she said, smiling as she shut the door quietly behind her. The patient really did, the last surgery had done a world of good.

"Thank you, I do feel much better." A soft yet tired smile. "I'm afraid I won't be good conversation company, I'm still a little worn out from earlier."

"Oh, I can leave if you want, Sanderson will kill me if he thinks I was keeping you up," Sharon said, stopping abruptly so she could leave.

"No, please stay. I like the company, and I want to know what happened today and how the meeting went. I just meant that I wasn't going to be very talkative."

She could sympathize with that. She only had one constant visitor while she was one of Sanderson's patients, and a very small reason for her constant visits was to repay the favor. "All right, but I'm leaving at the first yawn, regardless of where I am in the story," she said, sitting down in her usual plastic chair that was right next to the bedside. "It's been kind of a long day for me too, what with Aunt Peggy officially meeting the Avengers for the first time and all."

"Yes, how did that go?"

"Pretty well, it was a little tedious to listen to though at some points. Tony behaved for once, so I didn't make too much of an idiot of myself this time around. But let me start at the beginning, it'll make more sense. Please stop me at any point and I'll come back and finish in the morning," Sharon said, leaning forward in her chair. "Sound like a deal?"

Agent Phil Coulson smiled. "Sounds like a deal. Now, _please_ tell me what happened."

* * *

**A/N: And that's the end. HUGE thank you goes out to everyone who read/reviewed/faved/alerted. Thank you very much for all your support. :)**

**For any hardcore USUK (Hetalia Axis Powers) fans who happen to be reading this: You're welcome for the nod to DeValier. **

**Captain America, the Avengers, and all related media belong to Marvel**

**The song in the beginning of the chapter, '_Flightless Bird, American Mouth' _belongs to Iron & Wine. **


End file.
